Ground rod driving means



Feb. 2, 1954 c. w. Mosx-:LEY

GROUND ROD DRIVING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April l5, 1951 N NNN y .m6 `R. Sw ma NJ a# ma m mM n Feb. 2, 1954 c. w. MosELEY GROUND ROD DRIVING MEANS 2 Sheets-#Sheet 2 Filed April l5, 195] INVENTR.

Cil/491,55 n. MOJLEY ATTOIVEVJ Patented Feb. 2, 1954 .PATENT .oF Fior.

rGRCNLTIID'. ROD DRIVING MEANS (haal'lesiy WfiMoseley; Charlotte-s N; C.; :assignortto R. H. Boulignygzinc., amcorporationeof,-North .,Garolna fApiilictiuiAprif '13, 19`51`,-`seriai 'Nofzsol 3i Glaims. (GL: 61-1-73) i1 22 "This-invention relates ,tolan''iinirvdground VT'1ig..21'isia generally"correspondinglfrontelevafrod-drivinglmeansf adap'tedf1i:artioularly?"for rapid "tion as" seenirom 'theleft in'Fig.- 1 fnd.. emgentfdivmgg Otze'ep 'gq-guns, v4Fig. lf3? a` further front `elevationcorrespoiidl'Tlre are many? instancesWhereisili condifing toiFig. 2;' butl showing the impact'mechanism iftions'fA require groundsf-or?electricitransmission 5 iin a'lowered'position Vduring theV drivingofa andi distributionlinesf running`ro`m 50': to l 100 "ground rod section;

"resistance"connectionwith theigrorid. y`vSuchr'so- Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail-takn calledfdeepf'f groundsi are'icommonlyinstalled by l0 sbstantially at= the 'llinefiw Fig;-'2 :f and fdrivingiwsectionalf grounds-'rods made-@tipj of. fsec- Eig: 6 is a fragmentaryirontfelevation corre- 'tions 'abot l0 ffeetf long?v fthat are formed `with spon'ding -fto Fig.r 5.

screwttings ff or similar connecting meanssat "Referring- 'noWf indetailffto thevdra'wingsf and `theirIf'endssolfthat theyf-fmay fbefdriVen-serially ,moreparticularly at-'firsi'nftofligs1.and-2,A the *Withnan'additionalisection being'monnected' to mwembdiment of ftheground irodrdrivingffmeans i' the sone previously; driveniuntiltm"total depth foi the' present A41inventionas'hown, A*las indicated of the drivenfsections'givesfia f satisfactorily' 'low generally by'thereferencernumeral 'I il; ycompri-ses frgrouri'd" resistancemeasurement. tan impaotfmechansmf l Iifarrangedfon raw-vertical- Thei'fdrivingofthesefdeep.' grounds hasi-fherely disposableifguide means III-fand associatedwwith :toiorebeen: characteristicallyrdiflicultbecause*of gw-a "series-of flexiblyz'connected plate membersI 16 ftheltendency of the'ground rodfseotionsfto'ibuckle v arranged tof'fhangfftherefromf-in;-parallel3 spaced or bend during driving, particularly in reaching `='relationffas will, be explainedfurtherpresently. the relatively great depths that arerieoui'red. dThe impact-mechanism I2'fmay beeofanwconfAttemptshavebeen madeF to` avoid thisfdifculty ventional type having adequate drivingvcapacity =by providing a'drivingfmeansarranged-forapply- Pfand of'fsuitablefrfo-rmf fon-arrangement-onffthe ing the 'driving forceclose'to the'ground through 'guide meansvIII-infaccordancef'with fthe-.present a'releasable 'chuck that `wouldwlimbV the ground 1finvention. Ai particular: type, {or/example, fthat rod .sectionsso to speak a asl they `-were "f driven. may i fbe fused tof-goodwaclvantagei is-`4 a :gasoline Such driving means have vprc'wedfto 'b 'inherently hammer; `/asA illustratedffin the fdrawings;having -sloW, however,y because theydofnot allovv applicaproperly adapted chuck asfindicatedatl 8 .efor

v:tions of the driving' force toithebest"=advantage. 41Vdisposition:overfthevtop--endc f-tlfiefigroundf'rod VWith such drivingl ineans, forfexampldas; 'much @section- `G- `to= fbezfdriven, fandf a sflexible .ignition as"V half anV Ahour has been required: for-'driving -oablel-connectiondasaatdo permitting .-thet.1neces *a'10l`ioot"ground rod`r` section,-'whi1e" the-same saryfraising and floweringof-.thehammer I2 :"se'ction can kie/"driven with the-improved'ground f during thefideepgrounddriving-operations..(comyrod `driving 'm'eans'-of-the' present invention-1in 35.4parerFigs-A-2-and3).

'less than a minute. Theguide mea-ns I4 onf-.whichthewhammerf-i2 i Brieyfxdescibed, ithisifimprovdr-ground#rod isfarranged-vconsists essentiallyof-ann elongated 'drving meansA comprisesan 'impact'xmechanism .frameworks comprising fspacedside members 22 v' adapted for vdriving 'agroiind'odsectioniirom --;that*are joined byeanend piece as-at-.24v and vva "its upper end, and *with 'which lateralbracing 40* suitablenumberofspacedcross.braces-25 formed ineans'are 'unionely associated forsiipporting the to allow clearance for.'lengthwsemovementof ""undriven Ylengtlrof theground rod sectionvaga'inst theahammer I2`falong the-side members-22- {Ihis bendingduringthe-:driving operation. :The-bracfframeworkforeguideffmeansfI4 isfverticallydismeansarefiarrangd according tothe-present posed according-to .thepresent'inventionduring invention' so that".they"`collapse on` foneanother 45. ther-'groundrod rdrivi-ngeoperation,andfis shown as 'the undriven'len'gth off thel ground 'rod section in the-drawings lmounted onf-a truck at. rpivot f decreases to allow vcontiniious fand unimpeded ibrackets 28 carr-iedonA supporparms, 3g f extending operationof the imp-act', mechanismforv rapid `from the .-tr T. An .inclined Vbrace32f for the zand eicientfdrivingsof eachsection- .-framework Ill-isalso-'carried on -the-supportarms Thefpresent'invention'is described further be- 50-30,and-this-.brace 32 is. formedoftelescoping 'loW 'in-'connection -with the accompanying'draw- .-fpartsgasshoWm-fin order to, allow adjustment yfor -ing,- -in which: vertical disposition .of the framework I 4 when g Figilfisa-side elevation ofiaground rod .driving vthe truck Tnvisgstndnggn uneven ground, A ...means embodying the.present,inventionarranged similar.4 adjustment' mayibef provided transversely iforwpemonn atru'ckjtm. truck being indi! sept, thetruck "I' "aifigdesii-ed. 'Thel incl-inedbrace cated" in "dotted lines; 32 may be deta'chwhene'ver the YgroundTV rod impact mechanism or hammer I2, and for this purpose are suitably formed of channel iron with the channel faces directed inwardly to receive the ends of upper and lower hammer mounting plates 34 and 3E (which ends may be connected by vertical bracing plates as indicated by dotted lines at 35 in Figs. 2 and 3) for guided sliding movement lengthwise of the framework I4. This movement of the hammer I2 is controlled through a suspending cable 38 trained over sheaves 45 arranged on the framework end piece 24 and fit,

running toi a winch 42 mounted on the framework I 4 within convenient reach from the ground for raising and lowering of the hammer I2. Adjacent the winch 42, a hammer starting cord 44 is also arranged to hang from the free end is.;

of a hammer starter lever 45 carried on the upper hammer mounting plate 34 (compare Fig. 4).

The previously mentioned series of flexibly connected plate members I6 are also arranged for guided sliding movement in the channel faces of the framework side members '22 (compare Figs. and 6), and hang from the lower hammer mounting plate on chain units 48 or the like adapted to space the plate members I5 regularly when hanging freely, but allowing them to collapse upon one another in tiered relation as the hammer I2 is lowered on the framework I4, the framework side members 22 being fitted adjacent their lower ends with removable pin members 5B against which the plate members I5 may collapse in this manner (compare Figs. 1 and 2 with Fig. 3).

These plate members i6 -serve as lateral bracing means for supporting a ground rod section G against bending as it is driven by the hammer I2, and for this purpose each plate member I5 is formed, as shown best in Figs. 5 and 6, with an open ended slot 52 of suitable size for rev ceiving the ground rod section G, and is fitted with a latch member 54 hinged adjacent the slot 52 so that it may be selectively opened (as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 6) for inserting a ground rod G in the slot 52, or closed for retaining the ground rod G laterally therein. The hinged portion of the latch member 54 may be weighted as at 5E for biasing the latch member I54* in closed position, or a positively engaging spring latch or the like (not shown) may be employed for locking the latch member 54 in closed position if desired.

The operation of the driving means of the present invention for driving a ground rod section G is carried out by first raising the hammer I2 to the top of the vertically disposed framework I4 by the Winch 42 so that the ground rod section G may be inserted in the hammer chuck i3 and arranged in the bracing slots 52 of the plate members I5. With the ground rod section G thus inserted, the winch 42 is manipulated to let off the suspending cable 38 so that the full weight of the hammer I2 is rested on the upper end of the ground rod section G to augment the driving force as the hammer I2 is operated.

The undriven length of the ground rod sec tion G is effectively supported against bending Vas this is done by its arrangement in the bracing slots 52 of the plate members I6 which hang at spaced intervals along the undriven length. As this undriven length decreases during the driving operation, the hammer I2 is continually lowered from the winch 42 to maintain its driving force on the ground rod section G, and as this happens the lowermost of the previously freely hanging plate members I6 come to rest successively on the stop pins 5I! in tiered relation, as the flexible chain units 48 connecting the plate members I6 allow them to collapse in this manner on the pins 50.

After the hammer I2 has been lowered during its driving operation to the point where it reaches the collapsed plate members I6, operation of the hammer I'2 is stopped and it is raised again to the top of the framework I4 for insertion of a succeeding ground rod section G which is in turn disposed in the hammer chuck I8 and arranged for lateral bracing by the plate members I6, and then connected to the top end of the previously driven section for driving in the same way. The successively driven ground rod sections G are accordingly placed in the ground as a continuous length until the necessary length for obtaining the required ground resistance connection has been driven. When this has been accomplished, the stop pins 54 may be removed from the framework I4 to allow the plate members I6 to be lowered out of the channel faces of the side members 22 and displaced to one side so that the hammer I2 may be used to drive -the top end of the last ground rod section .G flush with or below the ground surface as desired.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims. 1

I claim:

l. Ground rod driving means comprising an impact mechanism incorporating a chuck for gripping the upper end of aground rod and driving the same, a plurality of plate members, nexible connecting elements joining said plate members serially in collapsible, parallel spaced relation and securing said serially joined plate members' to said impact mechanism for hanging vertically therefrom in said parallel spaced relation, vertically disposable guide means for said impact mechanism and said plate members, and means for raising and lowering said 'impact mechanism on said guide means when vertically disposed, said guide means extending in 'a length providing a ground rod driving reach for said impact mechanism, and said plate members having vertically aligned. apertures for receiving a ground rod therethrough in bracing relation while hanging from said impact mechanism.

2. Ground rod driving means comprising an impact mechanism incorporating a chuck for gripping the upper end of a ground rod and driving the same, a vertically disposable elongated framework having spaced side members forming guide means and extending in a length providing a ground rod driving reach, said impact mechanism being mounted on said framework for movement lengthwise thereof guided by said side members, means for raising and lowering said impact mechanism on said framework whenvertically disposed, and a series of iiexibly connected plate members secured to saidgimpact mechanism for hanging vertically therefrom in parallel spaced relation, said'plate members slidably engaging said side members for guiding thereby, and said plate members having vertically aligned apertures for receiving a ground rod therethrough in bracing relation 'while hanging from said impact mechanism.

3. Ground rod driving means comprising an impact mechanism incorporating a chuck for gripping the upper end of a ground rod and driving the same, a vertically disposable elongated framework having spaced side members forming guide means and extending in a length providing a ground rod driving reach, said impact mechanism being mounted on said framework for movement lengthwise thereof guided by said side members, means for raising and lowering said impact mechanism on said framework when vertically disposed, and a series of exibly connected plate members secured to said impact mechanism for hanging vertically therefrom in parallel spaced relation, said plate members slidably engaging said side members for guiding thereby, and said plate members being formed with vertically aligned open ended slots for receiving a ground rod therethrough while hanging from said impact mechanism and being tted with latch members at the open ends of said slots that may be selectively opened for inserting a ground rod in said slots or closed for retaining a ground rcd laterally therein.

CHARLES W. MOSELEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 38,570 Dubois May 19, 1863 412,006 Weber Oct. 1, 1889 1,569,763 Litter Jan. 12, 1926 

